


Immortals

by everybody_koiya



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:21:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22630090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everybody_koiya/pseuds/everybody_koiya
Summary: The Doctor realised the importance of the situation. Ruth thought she was human. Ruth chose her to be her companion. All she needed to do was copy her companions for a little while, to get some answers out of that impostor, and be good to go.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor & The Doctor | Ruth Clayton, Thirteenth Doctor & Yasmin Khan & Graham O'Brien & Ryan Sinclair, Thirteenth Doctor/Yasmin Khan (if you squint)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Immortals

"You're probably a bit confused right now," Ruth told her — except she didn't look like Ruth anymore. She was dressed in a waistcoat and this odd, bright shirt entirely reminiscent of the Doctor's own fashion choices from many moons ago. Yes, she was bloody confused! How couldn't she be? She just found her TARDIS buried into the soil at some lighthouse! Did—... did Ruth do this?

There was something about the woman now, that felt different, and it wasn't just the awful clothing choices. Something about her felt like... like...

"I broke the glass. It's all come back to me," she smiled faintly, while the Doctor remained puzzled. When she said 'break the glass', surely she couldn't mean... 

The Doctor turned away. She couldn't keep looking at her any longer.

"This," she pointed at the buried TARDIS, to finally try and get some answers to the quickfire questions storming her brain. "What is this?"

"That's my ship," Ruth answered with ease, and the Doctor immediately spun back to her. It took everything in her not to scream a rather agitated 'that's not _your_ ship, that's _my_ ship' at the top of her lungs.

"What?" she asked instead. Because that just simply couldn't be. This random Gloucester woman, this _human_ , can't just waltz in, dress funny and steal her TARDIS! She can't pretend to be her! Not that she could ever beat the original, anyway...

"Let me take it from the top," the thief told her, as if the Doctor was but a confused toddler, her lips pulling into a grin she would very much have liked to sock off her face. "Hello. I'm the Doctor."

.  
.  
.  
... ** _Who?!_**

"I'm a traveller in space and time, and that thing buried down there is called a TARDIS." There was no way in the seven galaxies of Krashna that this woman was saying the truth. No, she couldn't be. She couldn't. "Time and Relative Dimension in Space," she explained to the owner of the ship herself. No, not only that, the grandfa—... the now grandmother of the girl who made up an English name for it, as the Gallifreyan was entirely different. 

Ruth — she absolutely refused to call her the Doctor until she was certain — walked to her with that sickeningly friendly smile she kept on whilst speaking. The woman was taller, too. Oh, thank Rassilon, a tall Doctor, how original!

"You're gonna love this," she told her, and took her by the hand. 

Oh. Oh!

As they dematerialised, and the Doctor got over the momentary thrill of her hand being held after so long, she realised the importance of the situation. Ruth thought she was human. Ruth chose her to be her companion. Of course. Always a knack for pretty blondes. All she needed to do was copy her companions for a little while, and she'd be fine. Yaz's undeniable bravery, Ryan's eagerness to touch everything within reach and Graham's permanent confusion was exactly what she had to embody to get some answers out of that impostor and be good to go.

Oh...

The TARDIS they just materialised into was not hers. It looked like it could have been at the dawn of time, with the lovely round things on the wall and the console panel. She felt her hearts speed up, her hands tingle with eagerness to jump to it and fly somewhere fun, but... she was not the Doctor right now. Ruth was the Doctor, and she had an important investigative job to do.

While Ruth struggled to get her TARDIS to power up, the Doctor was deep in thought. How does she do this? How does any detective start an investigation?

Oooh.

"Mind if I nip out for a second?" The Doctor asked the taller woman.

"Sure, have a look around. We should be good to go in a minute." She looked up from behind the brainy specs, flashing her another sugary smile. "It's unlike anything you've ever seen before. The universe. I think we're gonna have lots of fun together," she told her. It took everything in the Doctor not to scoff. Was that how she always behaved?

"I bet we are," smiled the Doctor, and ran off into the nearest corridor she could find, to be out of earshot. She reached into her coat pocket to fish out the blue phone the Fam gifted her in the case of an emergency, and dialled the number of the only person who mattered right now.

"Hello?" The sound of Yaz's voice felt like home. Finally something that didn't confuse her.

"Hiya, Yaz, it's me. Got a minute?"

"Doctor! Oh, thank God, listen, I have to tell you—"

"Please, not now. It's important," she cut her off, although she was quite curious what Yaz was going to tell her. "I need you to help me."

"Are you hurt?" Yaz sounded concerned. The Doctor's lips pulled into a very faint smile. If she only knew... "Did something happen with Ruth? Are you in trouble?" So this is what a companion does, then. Stand and ask questions.

"Ruth is..." she sighed shakily, not really knowing how to tell her. Maybe the best way was to be straight-forward. She had to give it a try, just this once. "Ruth says she is me. From the past or the future, I don't know. I can't remember ever having been her, and she doesn't recognise me — or is just a brilliant actress. But anyway, she has a TARDIS! My TARDIS, the police box! It just looks different on the inside."

There was silence at the other end of the line, except for the faint sound of someone chewing. Maybe straight-forward wasn't the best way after all.

"Yaz? Are you there?" she asked, uncertain.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just... woah." she laughed nervously.

"Very woah." grinned the Doctor. "She thinks I'm human, and I'm kind of her companion right now. I want to find out where she fits into my life."

"Sorry, are you your own companion? Did I get that right?" she heard Graham say, with a mouth full of... something. 

"Am I on speaker phone?" the Doctor laughed. She wouldn't have minded talking to only Yaz at the moment, but she could work with this.

"Yaz told us to shut up, so she could be the one telling you the news. Once a teacher's pet, always a— ow!" Ryan informed her, and Yaz probably hit him in the arm for that. The Doctor threw her head back laughing, her Fam's antics finally taking her mind off the chaos surrounding her. "You should see the looks people are giving us in this café." he said jokingly. "And it's mainly due to Gramps ordering his fifth fried egg sandwich in a row."

"I am not!" Graham argued.

"Boys, let's get back to the Ruth-situation." Yaz told them off. "Doctor, what do you need?"

"What would you ask a possible incarnation of yourself and how would you do it?" she asked them.

"She thinks you're human, right? Knowing you, she wants to be impressive so that you stick around. At least, you used to do that once." Yaz started. Was that really what she did? "Ask her about travelling, and the universe. You know, the spacey-timey stuff. She'll probably tell you everything."

"Do you think it could work?" the Doctor mused to herself, running a hand through her hair. 

"You can do anything, Doc. Go, get your answers. We'll be here in Gloucester and get you a bite to eat while we're at it." Graham assured her, making her break out in a grin. Now that Ryan mentioned that fried egg sandwich earlier, the Doctor herself was starting to feel slightly peckish.

"Thanks, Graham." she told him. "Listen, gang, I have to get back to Ruth before she gets suspicious. Thank you for talking me through this." _I should do this more often_ , the Doctor nearly added, but decided against it.

"Stay safe, Doctor. Please." said Yaz, and hung up the phone.

The Doctor sighed, leaning against the wall. How was she going to do this? She had no bloody clue. All she knew is that she couldn't keep living with time swirling around her like a hurricane anymore, the intensity of it all making her sick to the stomach. If that meant travelling with her annoyingly optimistic mystery self... so be it. Because _she_ was the Doctor. And only _she_ could be in control of her own, current life. Not anyone else. Not ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick something I whipped up this morning before "Can You Hear Me?" airs. Second part coming sometime soon, hopefully today, as well as some proper tags. Wouldn't wanna spoil anything. See you then xx
> 
> Titles taken from "Immortals" by Fall Out Boy.


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